


No Research is Ever Quite Complete (Interlude)

by Oreocat155338



Series: Missing-nin Tobirama [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, It's good enough, Other, bit of a fill-in it feels like but whatever, can anyone figure out what's going on yet?, more missing-nin AU!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-06-23 12:01:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15605847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oreocat155338/pseuds/Oreocat155338
Summary: Minato hadn't known much about the infamous nuke-nin who'd betrayed Konoha a few years after the villages founding. Senju Tobirama had been only briefly touched upon in the Academy's curriculum, and all that said was that he was the brother of the Shodaime Hokage, Senju Hashirama, one of the greatest minds of his generation, and that he had betrayed the village and tricked the Kyubii into attacking it.Still, the greatest mind of Konoha deservedsomeoneto research his notes.(AKA, a bit more insight into certain events surrounding what is (currently) the first story in the series)





	No Research is Ever Quite Complete (Interlude)

When his sensei had been Jiraiya the Sannin - the student of one of Senju Tobirama's six students -

He'd used it as an excuse to ask the Sandaime about him. Sarutobi had been.... Evasive, but Minato had picked up on Sarutobi's confusion at his once-sensei's actions.

Still, Jiraiya-sensei had been told of his questions, and had introduced him to Orochimaru.

 

And, sure, Orochimaru was the greatest mind of _his_ generation, but he also had all of Tobirama's notes.

And while Jiraiya was his sensei, Minato decided when it came to anything to do with Senju Tobirama, he would go to Orochimaru.

 

This arrangement was how Minato became a Seals Master. He learned the theory from Jiraiya-sensei, and then he went to Orochimaru-senpai who would sit with him and they would work out what Tobirama's notes meant.

 

So, where Jiraiya's seals were fashioned more like Ushizo seals, Minato's were fashioned more after Senju Tobirama's.

 

In fact, most of Minato's fighting style was based off of Tobirama's fighting style - based off what few notes were left on _that_.

In fact, it had taken some doing, but he had managed to convince the Nidaime to let him have Tobirama's sword (he'd realized after the fact how it would be taken, but luckily for him, no one had realized except the Shodaime, and later, the Sandaime).

.... Only to spend the next few months going through katas, relearning how to fight.

 

But once he'd mastered the sword, he was glad that he did.

***

Minato frowned as he re-read the note. As Senju Tobirama had gotten closer and closer to his defection, his notes became more... Incoherant. This one was the last note before he had left, by the looks of it. He looked up at Orochimaru, and raisd an eyerow.

"What an I supposed to do with this?" He asked. "And why haven't I seen this before?"

"Because Uzumaki Mito gave it to me before she passed on." Orochimaru said. "She insisted I give it to the next great Seal Master - and someone I don't think she counts Jiraiya as one. I couldn't give it to you until I was sure that you _were_ the next great Seal Master."

The answer... Is one that Minato will accept. For now. He has been considered a better Seal Master than Jiraiya for years now - has three students, not that Kakashi, Rin or Obito, will ever learn what it _really_ is that Minato and Orochimaru talk about.

Not to mention that Kushina is better than Jiraiya as well, though Fuuinjutsu is her birthright. She is better than him as well, so if Orochimaru was giving it to the next _great_ Seal Master...

Which meant that is might play an important part in his defection.

 

Well, it still ought to go to Kushina.

"I can't make hide nor tails of it." Orochimaru continued. "But maybe you might."

 

And Minato returned his attention to the note. The handwriting had become... Frantic, but was still, unmistakeably the handwriting of Senju Tobirama.

It was titled to Mito, and underneath the note he had sketched out a seal. Minato traced the lines with his eyes.

"It's not like any seal I've ever seen." He admitted. "But then, most of his other seals weren't either. I'll have to get back with you, Orochimaru."

The Snake Master nodded. "See to it that you do. This might be the reason that he tried to leave. If we can get to the bottom of this, we must. We owe it to Nidaime-sama and Shodaime-sama."

***

And then Kannabi Bridge happened and Obito _died_ , and Minato slaughtered an army before returning with his two remaining students.

 

The people of Konoha, who already avoided Kakashi - looked down on him for being the son of _Konoha's White Fang_ \- saw Obito's Sharingan in Kakashi's eye and hissed at him as he walked by _Thief_.

Nevermind that if not for Kakashi the war would not have ended when it did.

 

 

"I figured it out." He told Orochimaru  as he leaned against the wall. He said it as though the answer had come to him - not that he had spent hours, _days_ , even, studying it to work it out to keep himself from thinking about how he'd _failed_ Obito.

"And?" Orochimaru asked, his interest obvious in his eyes.

"It's a puppet seal. With a built-in kill switch." Minato replied. "So either someone else was behind his actions that day, or he was planning on controlling someone even stronger than him."

Not that Minato thought the second was very likely - as strong as Senju Tobirama was, there had been few capable of defeating him, he would have had no need, and had he planned it better, he could've killed both Hashirama and Madara - even with both of them coming after him. There was a detailed plan in the notes based off of their personalities and fighting styles.

  
Orochimaru nodded, having caught on already, and seeming to agree with Minato's unspoken opinion. "Then we don't have the answers... The question is - who?"


End file.
